Byzantinische Einflüsse#

Byzantine Influences: Byzantine forms spread to Austria at the time of the Crusades (fresco in the chapel of St. John in Puergg), though occasional relations between Austria and the Byzantine Empire date even further back. They were particularly promoted by family relations with the Babenbergs: During the Second Crusade the Babenberg ruler Heinrich II (1141-1177) married Theodora Comnenus, a niece of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180); Theodora from the imperial family of Angeloi was the wife of Duke Leopold VI (1198-1230); the last Babenberg ruler, Friedrich II (1230-1246), was married to Sophia Lascaris from the imperial family of Nicaea. However, the acceptance of the intentions and ideals of Byzantine artists was not limited to the Ducal court; their literature and decorative techniques eventually spread throughout the country and greatly enriched Austrian knowledge in the field of natural science. When Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks in the mid-15th century, Byzantine intellectuals fled to Europe and their knowledge was accepted and appreciated with the rise of Humanism in Austria and all parts of Europe.